Meaning & Usage
✨ Basic Meaning
Used to seek confirmation for something the speaker is trying to remember or believes they might know. It shows the speaker’s effort to recall a detail.
🎯 Primary Function
To express a soft, casual query for recollection or verification of a point of memory.
📋 Grammar Structure
Verb (Plain/Non-Past/Past) + っけ
i-adjective (Plain/Non-Past/Past) + っけ
na-adjective Stem + (だ) + っけ
Plain Negative Form (e.g., V-ない, i-adj-くない) + っけ
🎭 Usage Contexts
Formal Situations
Generally avoided. It is too casual. If required, use the slightly softer and more polite ‘でしたっけ’ (deshita kke).
Informal Situations
Very common and natural among friends, family, and close colleagues.
Written Language
Rarely used, primarily appearing in casual dialogue in fiction (manga, novels).
Spoken Language
Highly frequent. It is one of the most common conversational particles for confirmation.
💡 Common Applications
Confirming a forgotten detail.
Used when the speaker knows they once knew the information (Tanaka’s phone number) but has forgotten it and is asking the listener to remind them.
Example: 田中さんの電話番号はいくつだっけ？ (Tanaka-san no denwa bangō wa ikutsu dakke?)
Confirming a past event or fact.
Used when the speaker is confirming a detail about a known event (the party date). Often used with the past tense.
Example: 来週のパーティーは金曜日だったっけ？ (Raishū no pātī wa kin’yōbi datta kke?)
Rhetorical question (talking to oneself).
Used when the speaker is thinking out loud, actively trying to retrieve a memory, without necessarily expecting an answer from the listener.
Example: あれ？鍵はどこに置いたっけ…？ (Are? Kagi wa doko ni oita kke…?)
Frequency
High in casual, conversational Japanese.
Difficulty
JLPT N3 / N2 Intermediate
Tag:
Example Sentences
Example #1
お名前、何だっけ？
Furigana: おなまえ、なんだっけ？
Romaji: O-namae, nan dakke?
English: What was your name again?
Example #2
会議は3時から始まるんだっけ？
Furigana: かいぎは さんじからはじまるんだっけ？
Romaji: Kaigi wa san-ji kara hajimaru n dakke?
English: Was the meeting starting at 3 o’clock?
Example #3
私達、ここで最初に出会ったっけ？
Furigana: わたしたち、ここでさいしょにあうんだっけ？
Romaji: Watashitachi, koko de saisho ni deatta kke?
English: We met here for the first time, didn’t we?
Example #4
あの映画、本当面白かったっけ？
Furigana: あのえいが、ほんとうにおもしろかったっけ？
Romaji: Ano eiga, hontō ni omoshirokatta kke?
English: Was that movie really interesting?
Example #5
何の線に乗るんだっけ？
Furigana: なんのせんをのるんだっけ？
Romaji: Nan no sen ni noru n dakke?
English: Which train line did I need to take?
Example #6
あの有名な歌手、大阪に住んでいたんだっけ？
Furigana: あのゆうめいなかしゅ、おおさかにすんでいたんだっけ？
Romaji: Ano yūmei na kashu, Ōsaka ni sunde ita n dakke?
English: That famous singer, did she live in Osaka?
Example #7
彼は納豆を食べないんだっけ？
Furigana: かれは なっとうをたべないんだっけ？
Romaji: Kare wa nattō o tabenai n dakke?
English: He doesn’t eat natto, right?
Example #8
あれ、このレポートの締め切りって明日だっけ？
Furigana: あれ、このレポートのしめきりって あしただっけ？
Romaji: Are, kono repōto no shimekiri tte ashita dakke?
English: Wait, the deadline for this report was tomorrow, wasn’t it?
Example #9
昨日は天気が良かったっけ？
Furigana: きのうは てんきがよかったっけ？
Romaji: Kinō wa tenki ga yokatta kke?
English: The weather was nice yesterday, wasn’t it? (Trying to recall)
Example #10
思い出せない、あの歌は流行っていたっけ？
Furigana: おもいだせない、あのうたは はやっていたっけ？
Romaji: Omoidasenai, ano uta wa hayatteita kke?
English: I can’t remember, was that song a popular one?
Notes & Nuances
📌 Important Points
Frequent use of the Past Tense Form.
Often used in the past tense (V-た/Adj-かった/N-だった) even when confirming a current state or habit, emphasizing the act of recalling a previously stated fact.
Example: あなたの好きな食べ物は何だったっけ？ (Anata no suki na tabemono wa nan datta kke?)
Can function as a sudden realization/recollection.
Can be used alone (often with ‘ん/の’) as an exclamation when the speaker suddenly remembers something important. This is a self-correction or realization.
Example: あ、財布を忘れてきたんだっけ！ (A, saifu o wasurete kita n dakke!)
Expresses the speaker’s active uncertainty/memory lapse.
Unlike ‘～か’, which is a neutral question, ‘っけ’ strongly conveys that the speaker is uncertain because they *forgot* the information.
Example: 山田さんはもう帰ったっけ？ (Yamada-san wa mō kaetta kke?)
⚠️ Common Mistakes
❌ 社長、次の会議は来週の月曜だっけ？ (Shachō, tsugi no kaigi wa raishū no getsuyō dakke?)
✅ Use ‘ですか’ or ‘でしょうか’ in formal settings.
‘っけ’ is highly informal. Using it with a superior or in a business meeting is inappropriate and impolite.
❌ このバスは渋谷に行くっけ？ (Kono basu wa Shibuya ni iku kke?)
✅ Use ‘～んだっけ’ more frequently, as it sounds more natural when seeking confirmation of contextual information.
While V-plain + っけ is grammatical, adding the explanatory ‘ん/の’ often makes the question sound more natural when seeking confirmation based on context.
🏛️ Cultural Context
Politeness Level: Very casual and informal. Not suitable for Keigo (honorific/humble language).
Social Situations: Used among equals or when speaking down to children/juniors. It implies closeness between speakers.
Regional Variations: Mostly standard across Japan, though sometimes replaced by regional particles (e.g., in some Kansai dialects).
🔍 Subtle Differences
～っけ vs. ～よね
‘～よね’ assumes shared knowledge and seeks agreement. ‘～っけ’ assumes the speaker has forgotten and seeks correction/confirmation.
When to use: Use ‘～っけ’ when you genuinely forgot. Use ‘～よね’ when you are sure but want the listener to agree.
～っけ vs. ～か
‘～か’ is a neutral, purely informational question. ‘～っけ’ is a personal question related to the speaker’s memory state.
When to use: Use ‘～か’ in formal or neutral contexts. Use ‘～っけ’ in casual settings when recalling something.
～っけ vs. ～んでしたっけ
‘～んでしたっけ’ is a slightly more polite and formal version, often used to gently apologize for forgetting information given by the listener.
When to use: Use ‘～んでしたっけ’ when speaking to a casual superior or older acquaintance where a polite tone is needed.
📝 Conjugation Notes
When used with Nouns and Na-adjectives in the present tense, the ‘だ’ is often optional but frequently included: ‘学生だっけ’ or ‘静かだっけ’. When used with the past tense, the plain form ‘だった’ or ‘じゃなかった’ is used before ‘っけ’.
🔊 Pronunciation Tips
The small ‘っ’ (tsu) is not always pronounced as a full stop; the ‘kke’ is often pronounced smoothly after the preceding word, sometimes sounding like a slight stutter or a softer question tone. The pitch usually rises slightly at the end.
🧠 Memory Tips
Think of ‘っけ’ as a “key” that unlocks a locked memory. When you use ‘っけ’, you are asking the listener for the key to confirm a forgotten detail.
Other Grammar
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